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Palatka mother needs help after friend dies, son injured in crash

Dominic (right) and his mother Heather (left) were in a two vehicle crash Friday, April 20. Heather's friend was a passenger in her vehicle during the crash and had died. 

April 28, 2018 update: The mother of a 3-year-old Palatka boy who was severely injured in a two-vehicle crash is still struggling to commute from the hospital.

Hospital employees took the boy, Dominic, off life support after noting improvement in his health. However, the child's health started to decline and was put back on life support Saturday.

Dominic's mother, Heather Tinsley, said her car was lost in the crash, said she is stranded at the hospital without a ride home to her husband and other children.

If you'd like to help this mother, contact Shand's in Gainesville at 352-265-0111 or leave a comment on the GoFundMe page created for Dominic.

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Original story: A Palatka mother is asking for help and prayers after being in a fatal accident that killed her friend and severely inuring her young son.

The mother, Heather Ann Tinsley, created a GoFundMe page for her son, where she posted photos of the child hooked up to machines in a hospital bed.

In the page's description, Tinsley said the crash happened Friday, April 20, when a high-speed vehicle T-boned her car while riding with her son and friend.

They were traveling northbound in a 2014 Dodge Challenger on County Road 309 just north of Shell Harbor Road, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

A driver in a 2015 Dodge Ram southbound on 309 had crossed the centerline into the northbound lane, colliding into the right side of the passenger Tinsley's vehicle.

Tinsley said the impact caused their car to spin and land in the grass.

The other vehicle landed in a ditch, per FHP. That driver has serious injuries and was taken to Halifax Hospital.

Tinsley said her friend, Robert Elliot, died in the crash, and that her 3-year-old son had been stuck in between some metal and the back passenger seat. Tinsley said she was able to get out of the car and call for help.

Tinsley's son was life flighted to UF Shands Children's Hospital in Gainesville. She said he is in critical condition with a head injury with bleeding on the brain, a fractured neck, broken rib, bruised lungs, a lacerated liver, two broken wrists and a broken femur.

Tinsley is asking for help with commuting to and from the hospital since her car was lost in the crash. Despite the tragic circumstances, the Palatka mother is hopeful, saying her son is a fighter.

Cox Media Group

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